Toddler: Cats

For more information on how I plan and prepare my toddler storytimes, check out this introduction post. And for a complete list of the repeating extension activities, visit this post. I starred the materials used in the plan; multiple stars indicate use for more than one session.

The Plan

Books

Come Here, Cleo! by Caroline Mockford*
How to Be a Cat by Nikki McClure
I See Kitty by Yasmine Surovec*
Meeow and the Pots and Pans by Sebastian Braun**

Early Literacy Tip
It’s fun and easy for children to learn about topics that are relevant to them. For instance, books are everyday experiences (like animals) help young children make sense of their world.

How It Went

Tuesday morning
A very restless group today and I suspect the sudden reappearance of snow in the Midwest set them off. They loved “Kitty Cat” as a puppet show and one caregiver took a picture of the album to check it out at another time. Two of my new kiddos warmed up to me during bubbles and some of my older kiddos (I’ve had them since babies) were the cutest BFFs today, switching caregivers every other activity.

Thursday morning (9:30)
Didn’t happen! My alarm clock broke and I didn’t make it to work until my second storytime. Luckily, my amazing co-workers helped cover for me so my kiddos still got a storytime.

Thursday morning (10:30)
All of the kids wanted to touch the kitty in “I See Kitty” to show me where I could find it. After two or three caregivers tried to redirect (per Miss Katie’s blue no-fly zone rules), I finally brought the book around the circle so each kid could find kitty and we could still obey the rules. Again, the “Kitty Cat” puppet show was a huge success!